When Nothing Matters
by CarnagexElite
Summary: Everything had fallen. There were no longer Hidden Villages, no ninja, no borders, the Elemental Nations had become nothing more than a blanket of death, and for that, Kami weeped. Through her tears, the Third Ninja World War will be changed, and the following years along with it, touching the lives of the entire world. Time travel fic, NarutoxOC.
1. Chapter 1

When Nothing Matters

Prologue: The End

Not another time travel fic! Face it, we all love a bit of time travel when it comes to Naruto, what if he was stronger and everything, right? Well hopefully this one will be a little different.

I don't own Naruto, he is not a slave, nor do I own his franchise. This goes for all subsequent chapters, so if you don't see a disclaimer, then this one serves for the entire story. I'm lazy like that.

xxxx

A thirty five year old Naruto sat on a tree stump in a skeletal forest, a crate of sake sitting next to him, half buried in the ashes that made up the ground around him. His hair, once a bright yellow that could outshine the sun, was now dirty with ash and blood, a full dark beard grew on his face, covering his whisker marks and the lower half of his face.

His eyes, once a cerulean blue that sparkled like the ocean, were dull and lifeless. He wore black shinobi sandals that looked grey from the ash gathered on them and dirty brown combat trousers that were torn and stained. He wore a vest that used to be white, but had dulled with age and use, and on top of that he wore a hooded cloak, its original colours unidentifiable under the grime and stains; it was ragged around the edges and had several holes as well.

This was Naruto and Kurama's last stop; the forest that once used to surround Naruto's home village. He had travelled over the entire Elemental Nations, looking for someone, anyone left. He had searched every single place that a shinobi could hide and had come to one conclusion, the only conclusion; he was perhaps the last shinobi left.

Once Killer Bee had been killed and the Hachibi sealed, Akatsuki had fallen one by one as they attempted to get to the Kyuubi, only to fail until there were only two left; Zetsu and Tobi. Frustrated, Tobi, who was revealed to be Obito Uchiha, lost control over the Gedō Mazō, which began rampaging across the Elemental Nations until it reached a certain place; Konoha.

In a desperate attempt to stop the creature, Naruto and Kyuubi, who revealed his name to be Kurama, set aside their differences and battled the incomplete reincarnation of the Juubi. Nothing had worked until the Gedō Mazō began absorbing Kurama from Naruto, when their wills combined and reversed the process, forcing the chakra of all of the Bijuu into Kurama, who grew an extra tail but didn't become the Juubi, managing to retain his personality. However, he gained something else other than power; a heart, emotions other than rage, and for the first time he empathised with someone else. That someone was Naruto, and he inadvertently found his sense of self latched onto Naruto in the form of something that neither of them ever expected; Naruto became Kurama's very first friend.

When they came to they found that Konoha had been razed to the ground in their duel against the Gedō Mazō, but the biggest blow came when they found out what happened with Obito. He had killed Tsunade, Sakura, Sasuke, Hinata, Neji, Shikamaru, everyone, even Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi, before he died of chakra exhaustion from the only survivor; Shino.

With the threat of Akatsuki gone and a power vacuum left in the wake of Konoha's demise, the greatest war in history developed, so great that when there weren't enough ninja left to fight, civilians had been conscripted and trained to fight. After twelve years the fighting stopped because there was almost no one left to fight it. In his travels Naruto had figured that there were no more than fifteen thousand people left in the whole of the Elemental Nations.

Maybe he wasn't the last ninja; once everything had stopped Shino had disappeared without a trace and Naruto hadn't seen him since. They had both fought throughout the war for anyone that would pay them, having no other drive, nothing to motivate them. They just fought. And through it all they became the two strongest shinobi in the Elemental Nations; that's why they were perhaps the only two left.

Naruto started as someone sat down next to him; it was none other than Shino. They didn't need to exchange words, they were all the two had left. Naruto glanced at his best friend, his only friend. Shino had changed in the war; not just mentally but physically too, thanks to an accident.

He had been caught by someone whose chakra he couldn't drain, and there were a lot of ninja between Naruto and him, Naruto couldn't get to him in time to stop him from being mortally wounded. Naruto killed the guy before the finishing blow, but Shino was already on the edge.

Due to his insects Shino, like his clan, had a high affinity with nature, and upon nearly dying Shino had unconsciously begun to absorb nature chakra to try and stay alive, but Naruto didn't know this. Being stupid, for this was before war had truly taught him sensibility, Naruto had channelled some Bijuu chakra into Shino; the results were highly unexpected.

Shino's life had been saved, but he had been altered, for the Bijuu chakra that entered him had been that of the Nanabi, Chomei, and had fused with the nature chakra and bonded to Shino; Shino now had six wings on his back and a tail with a venomous stinger wrapped around his waist, and his skin had hardened like chitin. He also could control any insect around and communicate with them even more than before, allowing him to convey more complex orders.

The two of them had been known as the Duo of Death; unoriginal true, but it described them perfectly. Having lost everything and then experienced war for two years, they had become ruthless, merciless, and emotionless to all but themselves. No one that they faced survived, and they left death in their wake.

However, after twelve years the war had finally ended. Every ninja village was gone, the capitals of the countries were decimated and borders no longer existed. Most land was tainted by blood and fire, ridden with disease and pestilence, causing further death and misery.

So Naruto had gone searching the Elemental Nations for anyone else, any other ninja, for seven years; seven years of helping people he came across and chasing rumours only to find them false. Shino had done much the same, searching beyond the borders of the Elemental Nations for any other civilisation, or escaped ninja; he had found nothing but endless jungles, expanses of desert that put Suna to shame and vast oceans that none could cross.

Seven years they had searched futilely, and now they were back where it had begun. Naruto thought the ashen forest held a strange kind of beauty as it represented the world perfectly, still and lifeless, holding onto shadows of its former shape, any semblance of reality desperately clung to. Kurama rumbled in agreement.

The Bijuu was disheartened with the world, and actually felt sadness upon its passing. He had done and would stick with Naruto and Shino to the bitter end, for bitter it was. The three of them had come to this point as one last gesture to the world as they used to know it. There were no words, no actions, nothing that could define the moment.

So Naruto and Shino drank good sake in the cold forest well into the night, both suppressing their regenerative abilities, another of Shino's gained abilities, getting as drunk as they possibly could before the dawn. Though it went unspoken, they both knew that tomorrow was the day that they would kill each other; a mercy. There was nothing left to live for.

Everyone they knew and loved was dead, and there were so few people left that it was only a matter of time before there were no humans left save for them two, who would live longer than anyone else due to their circumstances. The salted Earth would never again provide sustenance for the human race, there were no longer animals save for the last of a few species, rivers had dried up, and forests had burned down. They would commit double suicide, because they were at the end of the world; it would be a mercy for all three of them.

So they drank, and drank, until they were so drunk that they couldn't see straight, or stand up, or talk properly. It took a lot to get them drunk even without their 'special chakra', as they had lost none of their skill, speed or strength since the end of the war, and as such had amazing endurance. But this one time, there were no restrictions, no laws, no public indecency.

Eventually, they passed out. They were totally unaware as a bubble of something surrounded them and the ground they laid on, it looked like light but it was tangible. It was the light of Kami herself, for upon the destruction of the world she had awoken, only to despair as she witnessed the destruction her creations had wrought. Unfortunately she could not change things as she wished due to her and her brother Death's self imposed laws; no interference unless called upon by the most powerful of humans, or they agreed to action concerning some extenuating circumstance. Even then, they were limited.

So she whispered a spell in words that only Kami knew, and her light took the two back, back to when everything was bright and shining.

xxxx

They awoke at the same time, glad that their regenerative abilities spared them the horror of hangovers, though naturally Naruto's regeneration was leagues ahead of Shino's, though that was nothing to scoff at either.

They both got up and stretched, working the knots out of their muscles from passing out on the floor, and then stopped. They froze completely. They had a feeling, one that they hadn't felt since the war, that not everything was as it seemed. They could feel that the air was different, fresher, cleaner, smokeless, things it had not been for many years. Their 'sixth sense' was tingling like crazy, that ability to almost see the future born from years of experience.

They dropped into ready stances, taijutsu stances that they both developed themselves. Naruto was able to use all of Kurama's chakra, and as such was able to use it like his frog kata; the fox kata was based more on speed than power, and the exuded chakra burned the opponent whether Naruto connected or not.

Shino's was based on the ability to use his arms legs and tail, as well as attack from above due to his aerial advantage, though he preferred not to fly or use his tail until the right moment; they were excellent for psychological warfare if he waited to reveal them until they would have the maximum impact.

Their senses turned out to be correct; they were suddenly surrounded by seven ninja, who were all standing on the branches of the green and very much alive trees. They both looked down at the green grass beneath their feet, then back up at the ninja surrounding them.

They all wore Konoha hitai-ate, and were glaring at Naruto and Shino, who had forgone their hitai-ate during the war to further cement their positions as mercenaries. Naruto was still in his shaggy clothing, and his identity was hidden by his hood and beard; however, if one were to look closely, they could tell it was him.

Shino, on the other hand, looked very different to what he used to. He had become stockier, with more muscle than Naruto. He was clean shaven, but he had also shaved his hair short, except for a strip in the middle which led down into a ponytail that ended just below his shoulders. He had changed his black sunglasses for green ones, which also covered more of his face. He wore pretty much the same clothes as before the war, but kept the hood down, though they were just as tattered as Naruto's.

"Identify yourself!" The lead ninja demanded. Naruto and Shino glanced at each other; they had no idea what was going on, there were no other ninja left, nor were there any green forests left. They could hear a stream nearby as well. They were utterly baffled, they knew it couldn't be genjutsu because they were too strong for genjutsu to work on them, they had Bijuu chakra, so genjutsu barely worked on them, but most importantly there were no other ninja left to actually cast such a genjutsu, let alone a shared one of such detail.

"Identify yourself or you will be arrested and detained for questioning!" The same ninja demanded again. Suddenly they both had an image of a white light surrounding them both, and then a feeling of pulling and stretching. They decided that they needed to investigate where they were and try to figure out what the image meant, which was best done free from behind prison bars.

"Your time is up. Men, arrest them!" Suddenly five of the seven ninja were descending upon them. They studied their opponents, wartime reactions kicking in, and figured that the five attacking were all Chūnin while the two hanging back were both Jounin. Just as they were about to be hit by the Chūnin Naruto ran through hand seals and spat bullets of wind shaped like kunai through three of the Chūnin; they might live if they were lucky.

Shino let the other two, who had pulled out kunai upon seeing what Naruto could do, try to stab him, and chuckled slightly at the bemused expressions on the ninjas' faces when the kunai were stopped by Shino's chitin like skin. Before they could move away, Shino's hand appeared around one's neck and crushed it easily, killing the man. His tail appeared and wrapped around the neck of the other, slowly choking the life out of him. Shino dropped him after a minute, unconscious.

The two Jounin growled at the two men that had just appeared within Konoha's walls like magic, wondering what their purpose was. They had just stood there until they were attacked, and then dropped five Chūnin like they were Kage level ninja fighting Genin. The two Jounin glances at each other and nodded. One would hold them off while the other reported directly to the Hokage; these two men were very dangerous.

The one ran while the other moved to intercept the two when they tried to give chase. To his surprise though, they didn't even move. They just stared at him, baiting him, waiting for him to make the first move. He risked a glance back towards where his teammate had run, but staggered back when he found the two in front of him. He hadn't heard or felt them move, and they had covered the distance between them at an incredible speed.

Naruto looked at Shino, who nodded, having never broken out of his habit of staying quiet. Naruto then spoke to the terrified Jounin. "What year is it?"

"What?" The Jounin was befuddled, why would these two men want to know what year it was? The only thing he could think of was that these men were escaped criminals from somewhere and had no way of measuring time.

"It's in your best interest to answer my questions without delay," Naruto said calmly, his deep voice, which had lost its raspy quality as time went on, causing the Jounin to squeak slightly. The Jounin was proud, however, that his voice didn't waver.

"The year is 87 KF (A/N: I'm making up the calendar since I couldn't find out how it actually works in Naruto. 87 KF means it's been 87 years since Konoha's Founding. Naruto and Shino come from 125 KF)."

The Jounin was surprised when the bearded man's eyes widened like saucers, and caught the words, "shit, thirty eight years," though the rest was mumbled so the Jounin couldn't hear.

Then to the Jounin's surprise the one with the green sunglasses dropped down to another tree and punched it, then again, and again, and carried on until the tree was toppled. He watched as the bloodied and broken knuckles healed before his very eyes, and the two were once again in front of him.

"I have two more questions, then one of two things will happen. You will either not attack us, in which case you will live, or you will attack us, in which case you will die." The Jounin nodded his head, not daring to speak in case he upset this man. Few things could scare a Jounin, but killing or injuring five Chūnin effortlessly and then moving as fast and silent as a shadow could.

"Question one: what is your name?" It was a simple enough request, the Jounin thought, unexpected though.

"It's Jinta Taheki." The man nodded, obviously not recognising the name and therefore storing it away for later.

"Where are we?" How could the man and his companion not know where they were? Jinta quickly compiled all of the information in his head. The men had appeared out of nowhere through a sudden burst of chakra, they wanted to know what year it was, they didn't know where they were, and they were absurdly strong.

"Training Ground 61; just outside the walls of Konoha." The man had muttered something about thirty eight years, yet he couldn't have been more than that old himself, less even if Jinta's guess was right. So that could only mean that he and his were from the...

"Impossible. You can't be from the future! Who are you?" Jinta was scared now, very scared. He hadn't stopped his own outburst, and these men were surely going to kill him now. However, he saw a glint of amusement in the man's eyes.

"Hmmm, you are very sharp Jinta Taheki, that brain will serve you well. Yes, it appears that I and my friend are from the future, though and why escape even us. Ahh, I can see, you are wondering why I am suddenly feeling talkative. Would you like to know why?"

Despite himself, Jinta was interested, extremely so. Two men that were from the future, _thirty eight years_ in the future, who hadn't even been born yet, were standing right in front of him. And one of them had a tail. He nodded enthusiastically.

"Good. You see, my friend and I are actually ex-Konoha ninja, though from now on you can consider us as missing-nin, and as you have probably figured out by now, we were not even born by at this moment. So, to help us navigate, you are going to help us. You are going to be our contact within Konoha."

Jinta narrowed his eyes, but knew that there was nothing he could do at the moment. He would have to tell the Hokage everything these men had just told him, but more than that, he didn't know what to think. These two obviously weren't going to kill him now, and he couldn't detect a lie from the one that was talking, but he couldn't just trust them.

"Aha, you don't know whether to trust us, or whether Sarutobi-jiji will believe you." Jinta's eyes widened. "Do not be surprised, it is written all over your face. Well, feel free to tell him, for he will believe you, or at least give you the benefit of the doubt, if you tell him this; Whirlpool lives on in the lines of red and yellow. Sarutobi is not the only one who could decipher that, so tell only him. Now go. When we need you we will find you."

"Wait, what do I call you?" Jinta wondered if they would tell him anything, and if they did, if it would be their names or aliases, to his surprise and disappointment, they gave his aliases.

"You can call my friend Sutingā, I'm sure you understand why, and you can call me Kitsune."

Jinta ran back as fast as he could, faster than he had ever gone before, using as much of his chakra as he dared. He rushed into the Hokage's office, ignoring the shouting of the guards and the secretary, to see his teammate still reporting to the Hokage.

"Jinta Taheki? You defeated them?" Sarutobi said forcefully. Jinta was surprised that the Professor knew his name, but now was not the time to question him about it.

"Hokage-sama, no, they let me." The Hokage's eyebrows rose considerably.

"Tell me everything." Jinta relayed everything that had happened after his teammate had left. Sarutobi looked thoughtful for a few moments after Jinta relayed the message, 'Whirlpool lives on in the lines of red and yellow.' It wasn't much of an encrypted message true, but it was good enough. Sarutobi's eyes widened as he understood the message.

Kushina Uzumaki was the last known living descendant of the Uzumaki line, the clan that resided in Uzushiogakure, and he knew that she was infatuated with Minato Namikaze, the man that Sarutobi was considering as his successor once the war was over. So the man must be their son. For those two to have a child and train him, the child would be hailed as a prodigy, and would undoubtedly be beyond skilled.

Jinta had said that he had moved faster than he thought possible and silently too. It was all too probable that Kitsune knew the Hiraishin, and judging from the jutsu he used had a Wind affinity. The other was a complete unknown, though both of the Jounin reckoned he was an Aburame if the sunglasses and high collared coat were anything to go by.

The fact that Stinger seemed to actually have a tail and stinger like an insect and skin hard enough to stop kunai was surprising, and automatically made him a B-rank ninja. Regardless of that though, they had killed Konoha ninja and had to be labelled as missing-nin.

"Jinta, report to the records office and tell them that I want a new Bingo Book by tomorrow with those two in it. I assume you got pictures of them? Good. Kitsune and Stinger are going to be labelled as S-rank missing nin with a flee on sight order, however, should they appear to you, you are to provide them with any information they require, within reason of course. I would guess that they are not enemies to Konoha."

Jinta was surprised at his Hokage's orders, but he trusted the man, as did every ninja in and out of Konoha. He reported to the Records office, and by noon the next day, the two new S-rank missing-nin were the talk of the whole of Konoha, and the day after that, they were being mentioned in every ninja village.

xxxx

Naruto and Shino made camp around five miles from the border of Fire Country. If it was 87 KF, then they had arrived about a year before the end of the Third Ninja World War, and since that was the case then the borders would be patrolled at two miles from the border, so they would be safe.

"So what do you think?" Naruto asked Shino. Shino had always been an analytical sort, and if anyone could figure out why something happened, and how, it was him. If he hadn't been a ninja he would have been a top class detective.

Shino was slow to answer, but he did. "I think... that we have been given a second chance. We know that everything started when Obito 'died' about a year from now, and when Yahiko was killed just before that. As for how, I can only think that Kami was saddened at what had happened to the world, and as the last two ninja, we were who Kami chose to help."

"What? Why the hell do you think Kami had anything to do with it?"

"Think about it Naruto. We were the only two ninja left, no one could do this to us. I know that we didn't do it so who? Who else has the power to send people back in time? You remember the white light, don't you? I remember it feeling like nothing that I have ever felt before, it barely felt like chakra. Considering what had happened to the world as well, I can only think that Kami would at least do something."

Naruto nodded in agreement; Shino's reasoning was sound. After all, if you eliminate all of the possibilities, then the last explanation, no matter how absurd, must be the answer. That reasoning was one of the things that made them such good ninja during the war; they could look underneath the underneath and see the plots and actions of other ninja like a map.

"Another chance? I sure hope so. But how? We are now missing-nin, though I doubt Sarutobi will make any real effort to capture us. We can't just interfere in the war and risk certain people seeing us, nor can we directly aid any Nation, so what..."

"Naruto." Shino spoke in a voice he only used in two situations; either he was being completely serious or he was about to suggest something crazy. Despite his calm and sometimes boring persona, Shino was actually almost as nefarious as Naruto in his ability to think outside the box. Naruto looked at him interestedly.

"This is going to sound crazy." _No shit_ Naruto thought. "In a few days we will be known throughout the Nations, probably as S-rank missing-nin. Well, we know we can take care of ourselves, so why don't we pull a Yahiko; let's make our own ninja village." Naruto gaped at him. For a long time. Shino began to feel uncomfortable after fifteen minutes of no response.

"That sounds TOTALLY AWESOME!" Shino laughed lightly at Naruto's enthusiasm. It felt good. He felt better than he had felt in a long time, nineteen years to be exact. He reckoned Naruto felt better too. He couldn't believe that they had gone back in time, but like ninja do, he had dealt with it, and slowly but surely, he had let that fact fill him with something he hadn't had in a long time; hope.

Naruto was thinking along the same lines. He could feel a slight energy underneath his skin, and it felt great. There were so many things he and Shino could do to try and make things better and what was better, they had the power to do it. They knew they were strong, easily Kage level, definitely Sannin level, maybe even stronger. They were approaching the level of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. It was fitting that they were thinking of founding a ninja village together.

"Well Shino, first things first, where are we going to set a village?" Shino had been considering that. They needed somewhere that didn't have a ninja village, that wasn't directly in the path of the war between Konoha and Iwa, and was large enough to support a Hidden Village.

"How about the Land of Fields? It's between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, has plenty of trade, and a lot of space to use, plus we're already fairly close." Naruto considered it, but wondered if it would perhaps be difficult to create a _Hidden_ Village in the Land of Fields.

"How about the Land of Swamps? It is between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, so it has more trade, it doesn't have a Hidden Village, and it will be easier to create the Hidden Village. I also seem to remember something about the Land of Swamps having a poor ruler, so it would be easy to manipulate him or place someone on our side on the throne as Daimyo." It sounded good to Shino, and he nodded an affirmative.

Naruto's enthusiasm shot up again. "Alright, from now on, we are the Hidden Village of the Land of Swamps; Netsugakure no Sato (The Village Hidden in the Heat)."

"I see, because of its position the Land of Swamps it gets the heat of Konoha and Suna, but none of the air currents or seasons, hence it is hot all year round, resulting in heat waves in the swamps, which people tend to avoid; the village would be hard to get to due to the danger of the swamp, and the village itself would be hidden in the heat waves." Shino liked it, but there was something which was bothering him.

"Naruto, which one of us is going to be the Kage? And also, what type of Kage will one of us be?" It was a valid question. They were both extremely strong, and they weren't sure if they should go with tradition and be known as the Numakage, or come up with something different.

"Well... Let's go with Numakage, it's what we'll probably get called anyway, as for who should be the Numakage, you go for it, you're better for all of the political stuff and thinking things through, and I can train any ninja that join us quickly and effectively with my Kage Bunshin."

They agreed on that, and made their way to the Land of Swamps. It was on the edge of the war, but after thinking about it as they travelled, Shino figured that that would be better; they wouldn't get in the middle of the war but would be able to enter it when they wanted.

xxxx

A time travel fic with an original twist, at least I hope it's original, I haven't read every story on FF. Anyway, as always, read, review, follow, favourite, and above all, enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2

When Nothing Matters

Chapter 1: Netsugakure

xxxx

"So there's a plot to end the Daimyo's life right now? Damn, that's convenient," Naruto commented. Shino had just got back from scouting the capital, being better at stealth and information gathering with his bugs (where Naruto was better at stealth and assassination). "So who should we replace him with?"

Shino smirked slightly, a facial expression that he had picked up from Gaara before Suna had been overrun and Gaara had gone down, but not before becoming more famous than the Yondaime Hokage. He had been attacked by a joint task force by Kiri, Iwa and Taki, three thousand ninja overall. By the time Gaara died, the task force had been reduced by over two thirds. Even the last fifteen thousand people had been awed by his power.

"His daughter, Kiyo Chiame, who has actually had ninja tutelage, so I've heard. She is strong, smart, and is already thinking of creating a Hidden Village. I believe she is our best bet."

"Alright then, let's do it. Who is orchestrating the assassination?" Shino told him about the underground group Hayai Kiri, who were planning a takeover of the country. They agreed that they would 'offer' their services in the assassination for a small fee, then Naruto would assassinate the Daimyo while Shino would wipe out the underground group. They would alter the Daimyo's will, who held no love for his daughter, leaving it to her for political reasons, allowing them to incriminate the advisors that they wanted to get rid of.

Then they would approach Kiyo and together create Netsugakure no Sato, using their influence to manoeuvre the right people into office. Kurama agreed with their plan, though stipulated that they should continue using their aliases and Naruto should be the Numakage; he could do the paperwork and train other ninja with his Kage Bunshin, while Shino would be better for covert missions to start bringing in money for the village.

It had taken a couple of days for Kurama to wake up, the jump in time had apparently made each of them more tired the more powerful they were, and Kurama had almost unlimited chakra, and so it took a lot out of him. However, they brought him up to speed, and he agreed with Shino's analysis, commenting that even he would have trouble with time travel, and since he didn't do, it must have been Kami.

"_**Well then, let's get to it."**_

xxxx

"Naruto, you do the talking," Shino said suddenly as they were approaching the leader of Hayai Kiri, an ex-Chūnin from Kiri, one of the few who managed to evade their hunter-nin.

"What, why? Yes I am a better assassin, but you sound better, with your monotony, and your glasses and high collar you look the part too." Naruto was a bit confused, despite the fact that he didn't talk much around others Shino liked talking and was a fairly smooth talker when he wanted to be.

"I don't want them to hear my voice; should any of them happen to escape I don't want them identifying me through anything other than looks, and Aburame have distinctive vocal patterns. You are more of an enigma, and can use Kurama's chakra to sound more intimidating." It made sense; the Aburame clan was lucky to survive the Third Ninja World War, as they were hunted down almost religiously on the battle field due to their danger as long distance chakra drainers.

"Ok then." They entered the warehouse where they were told to meet with the leader of Hayai Kiri. _'Hey Kurama, you're better at sounding cool, you want to take this one?'_

'_**Sure, why not, I haven't been in control for a while,'**_ Kurama said. Several times during the war Naruto had let Kurama use his body, either to do some killing, or to sound more intimidating or just to let him stretch his legs. Being a lot older, he also had more experience in speaking professionally.

"**Ahh, that feels good,"** Kurama said out loud, causing Shino to raise an eyebrow.

"It's good to talk to you again Kurama," Shino said, and meant it too. Over the course of the war Kurama had become a part of their team, he was just as important as they were.

Just then they came into view of the leader of Hayai Kiri. "Welcome ninja. I am Yasuo Tadashi, the leader of Hayai Kiri. To what do I owe the honour?" The man's voice was smooth and enticing, nothing they hadn't heard before, and had already placed his entire personality from those three sentences; arrogant, impulsive, self-righteous and not as clever as he thought he was.

"**Greetings, Yasuo Tadashi. I am Kitsune and this is Sutingā. We understand that there is an... opportunity to claim some real estate in the area,"** Kurama said, enjoying the way Tadashi's eyes widened slightly and the smell of fear started rolling off of him.

"That's an... interesting voice you have there. How did it become like that?" Tadashi said, letting his curiosity overcome him, despite his fear. He was proud of himself for not stuttering though, for what it was worth.

Kurama grinned. He and Naruto had an agreed upon response to such a question. **"Funny you should ask. My throat was cut with a lightning enhanced kunai; that didn't stop me. Now, about that opportunity, my friend and I are offering our services in eliminating the Daimyo. All we ask for is a share in the spoils."**

Tadashi looked stunned at that statement. To survive a cut throat was almost impossible, and for these two ninja, who he could tell were at least Jounin level in strength, to offer their services was like a godsend. Kurama and Shino smirked slightly; he definitely wasn't as smart as he thought he was, they could tell that he didn't even suspect them or their motives, Shino's bugs could tell and Kurama could smell it.

"Well that certainly sounds generous of you, and such generosity will definitely be rewarded in kind. Welcome aboard."

It was easy, really. War made people either suspicious or stupid, and men like this were stupid. It made them so easy to manipulate. They set about planning their assassination.

xxxx

Naruto used chakra to jump across from the nearest building to the Daimyo's palace, which was pitifully under guarded. Shino was cleaning house at Hayai Kiri's headquarters.

He snuck over to a skylight above a dining room, and dropped in. While the palace was under guarded, they still had chakra detectors in the walls, so he couldn't use any invisibility jutsu or climb the walls with chakra. It didn't bother him it just made things more difficult.

He snuck towards the Daimyo's room, sticking to the shadows. He had been able to hide from ANBU wearing bright orange in broad daylight as a kid, hiding from non-ninja wearing dark clothing at night was child's play. He snuck into the room of the Daimyo, seeing that he was fast asleep.

Naruto checked the walls and floor, but apparently the Daimyo's room was unguarded, meaning he could use one of the jutsu he had developed. "Shinda yō ni nemutte iru no Jutsu." He gently touched the Daimyo's head. It was a jutsu that slowed the heart and cut off all signals to the stomach, meaning that they would be mistaken for dead for up to three days, so they could be revived if it was needed. After that they would die of dehydration.

He was about to leave when the door opened and someone else entered the room. He hid behind the door as she moved in. He studied her face and saw that it was Kiyo Chiame, holding a butcher's knife under her sleeve. Ninja training she had had, but not in using chakra. It seemed she had been taught stealth and how to use and conceal weaponry.

He watched as she was about to stab her father, and rushed over to grab her wrist. He caught it just above the Daimyo's neck. "There is no need for that; he is already dead," Naruto said, clamping a hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming. When her breathing had returned to normal he released his hand.

"What the fuck? Who the fuck are you?" Naruto was slightly taken aback by her language, but was glad that she at least had enough sense to not shout. He chuckled slightly, earning a glare from Kiyo. He liked her.

"You may call me Kitsune, and I just assassinated the Daimyo. I must admit this meeting is a little earlier than expected," Naruto said with an amused tone to his voice, earning another glare from Kiyo.

"You idiot!" She hissed at him. "I had a deal with his chief advisor; I kill him, I become Daimyo. You've ruined that!"

"Don't worry about it, I've already forged your father's will and incriminated the advisors that I wish to remove from power, including the chief advisor. By noon tomorrow you will be inducted as the new Daimyo." To say that Kiyo was taken aback was an understatement. Her eyes lit up in excitement and her personality did a complete turnaround.

"Thank you, thank you thank you, _thank you!"_ She whispered, making sure that the guards patrolling the halls didn't hear her. Whoever this man, this 'Kitsune' was, he had just completely turned over her plans and done what she wanted to do but better, as well as free her from being in debt to the slimy sleazebag that was the chief advisor.

Then she grew suspicious. "Wait a minute, if you could do all that, then why make _me_ the Daimyo, instead of who you wanted," she said in a hushed tone, though her ability to command authority was evident in the way she said it that demanded an answer.

He smiled at her, causing a flicker of something to pass through her eyes, he wasn't sure what, it was too brief. "We have already scouted out every candidate and decided that you were the best candidate and most likely to agree with us on the important points."

"Wait a minute, you said 'we' that time, who is we, and what important points are you talking about?" She was certainly sharp, Shino was right she would be a very good Daimyo. They weren't planning on meeting her like this, but they couldn't exactly predict the future. At least most of it.

"'We' is me and my partner Sutingā, and the important points that we are talking about concern your desire to introduce a Hidden Village to the Land of Swamps." Her eyes widened in surprise, and then a triumphant smirk adorned her face, causing her eyes to glitter; Naruto suddenly paid more attention to her.

She had bright green eyes, wide and alluring, and long platinum blonde hair that was incredibly silky, smooth and straight. She had full, pouty lips with a bow, and unblemished clear skin. She had an athletic body, and her features were almost elfish, giving her a cute pixie like quality.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, we already have it all planned out. I will become the Numakage of the village, as well as train all new recruits and actually build the village. My friend Sutingā will become the head of the ANBU and will begin the mission duty of the village; which, by the way, we have decided to name Netsugakure no Sato."

Naruto thought that he might as well lay all of the plans out now while they won't be disturbed, plus it meant less to talk about tomorrow. Then she asked a question that actually surprised him.

"How do I know that you are strong enough to be a Kage? And for that matter, who are you to come telling me what to do?" _Wow she looks really cute when she pouts like that_.

"_**Get your damn head out of the gutter, believe or not this is kind of an important meeting, despite the fact that it is kind of impromptu,"**_ Kurama said/shouted into Naruto's head, causing him to flinch imperceptibly. He shook his head internally, and refocused on talking to Kiyo.

"Am I strong enough to be a Kage? You have heard of the S-rank missing-nin Kitsune have you not? From Konoha's Bingo Book?" Her eyes widened at that. "And also the S-rank missing-nin Sutingā?" She almost fainted at that, causing him to chuckle again.

"Ok. Ok, then you are definitely Kage material. Why the fuck are you coming to me? And to the Land of Swamps?"

"That is best left to tomorrow. We will continue this discussion, but for now, it is best if you retire for the night for your induction as the Swamp Daimyo." With that, Naruto vanished in a flash of red.

xxxx

"Daimyo-sama," Naruto said, bowing slightly to Kiyo as she sat at the head of the meeting room. Only half of the advisors were there, the others having been arrested earlier that day for treason and insubordination. Kiyo was eyeing the two of them suspiciously, obviously having thought about their conversation last night and realising that he had actually revealed nothing about himself or his partner. He couldn't help but sneak glances at her either. Unfortunately some of Jiraiya's teachings had stuck with him.

Shino had been brought up to speed, and begrudgingly agreed that it hadn't gone too bad. He said that he could have done better, but that was because he was a smooth talker and he hadn't missed how Naruto had inadvertently begun to describe her in a way that said he was clearly infatuated with her.

Shino bowed as well. "Daimyo-sama, my name is Sutingā. I believe you are already aware of our... proposal." Kiyo nodded, thoughts rushing around her head continuously. She knew that these two were strong, but she wasn't experienced in dealing with ninja, especially missing-nin.

"For the benefit of my advisors, why don't you lay out your proposal clearly and concisely," she said with authority, obviously referring to Naruto's half-arsed attempt at explaining everything last night, despite how effective it had been.

Shino spoke up, blocking Naruto off, who pouted slightly. Shino laughed inside; it was good to have a purpose, something to do, something to take their minds off of the future where they came from.

"Daimyo-sama, Kitsune and I are proposing that the Land of Swamps marks itself as a ninja nation with the creation of a Hidden Village. We propose that Kitsune becomes the Numakage and I become the head of the ANBU of Netsugakure no Sato. Kitsune will also train recruits while I begin taking on high level mission."

"We already have a location marked out, on the South Swamp. We know that it is inaccessible for civilians so we will build an outpost on the edge where civilians can make mission requests. Otherwise, we will have an aviary for messenger hawks, and a special entrance for you, Daimyo-sama."

One of the advisors then spoke up, the new chief advisor, a young man that was eager to prove himself, but was tempered with a good morals and an observant nature. "How, may I ask, will we build the village? You are right, the Swamp is inaccessible to civilians, and building a Hidden Village will require a work force. Also, how will we afford the labour? We have a fair amount of trade, but it has been affected by the war, and it would at best be a stretch to build such a village."

"Your points are all valid points, however, we have that covered. Kitsune is able to create solid copies of himself, and is able to provide all of the labour, solving the problem of accessibility and labour cost," Shino explained. Naruto nodded along and created five Kage Bunshin, then dispelled them. He had done it so much that he was able to make them without seals and almost without smoke as well.

"Impressive, Kitsune-san, but it would require hundreds, maybe even a thousand people to build an entire village out of nothing. I understand that the chakra requirements for the Kage Bunshin are immense, and to create hundreds or more is beyond any ninja."

"I've got this one Sutingā. You must understand advisor-san, that I am special, and probably possess more chakra than any other ninja alive, for I am able to produce upwards of two thousand solid clones." He said it with such simplicity and confidence that everyone, even Kiyo, was immediately convinced that he could do such a thing. The reason for that was that he could, he could actually make many more than that, but there was no need to reveal how strong they truly were yet.

"I for one believe that these two have proposed a very promising idea, and that we would be fools to pass up the opportunity to become a ninja nation, especially with what these two are offering us in terms of cost and strength," said another advisor, earning a murmur of agreement from the advisors.

Shino and Naruto saw Kiyo's eyes narrow, no doubt suspecting that they had specifically gotten rid of the advisors who would oppose them; they had, and it was unfortunate that Naruto had to reveal that to her, they had initially planned for her to not know what they had done.

Shino saw Naruto wince and smirked, for he was no doubt enjoying a tongue lashing from Kurama for spilling vital information like a love struck puppy. It was obvious to a ninja that Naruto had barely taken his eyes off of the Daimyo, and it was equally obvious that she was trying not to look at Naruto, and Shino's bugs were telling him that she was slightly flushed and her pheromone levels were above average.

After half an hour of deliberation between Kiyo and her advisors, during which her pheromone levels had returned to normal, they were once again addressed.

"Kitsune and Sutingā, we have decided. At a unanimous vote, Kitsune will become the Numakage of Netsugakure no Sato in the South Swamp. I, Daimyo Kiyo Chiame of the Land of Swamps, hereby grant you all necessary funds to construct the village as you see fit, under the condition that all efforts are made to conceal the presence of the village from the Five Great Ninja Nations, especially Konohagakure no Sato and Sunagakure no Sato, while under construction."

It was no secret that the other ninja nations would try and prevent other nations from becoming ninja nations, to try and take more of the jobs, and therefore money, for themselves.

With a bow, they left and made their way South. So far so good.

xxxx

_(One month later)_

"H-How did you build it so _fast_?" Kiyo said to the two as she entered Netsugakure no Sato from the underground tunnel that they had built that would only respond to theirs or Kiyo's chakra signatures, otherwise appearing as nothing more than a long cave that ultimately ended nowhere. It also had very many turn-offs and loops unless you were one of the three or escorted by one of them.

"Remember when I told you that I could make over two thousand Kage Bunshin? Well the thing is I can make some three thousand more Kage Bunshin on top of that," Naruto told her with a grin, causing her jaw to drop. What he didn't tell her was that with Kurama's help, each of those Kage Bunshin had the chakra of a low level Jounin.

With the addition of the tenth tail, Kurama's chakra levels had multiplied twenty times over. Before, he had had a surplus of chakra that made Kages look like Genin and practically couldn't run out of chakra. Now, he probably had more chakra than every other ninja in the Elemental Nations combined and then some; it was a truly staggering amount.

They took Kiyo on a tour of the village, which they had built with the idea of civilians in mind. They had an outpost on the edge of the swamp like they said they would, but they had decided that they wanted civilians in the end, and changed their minds about the village.

Now, it was accessible to civilians, but only through one entrance. They had built a wall around the entire swamp with a genjutsu built into it that made people turn around unconsciously as they approached it up to about half a mile away, unless they approached the only gate in the wall directly from at least a mile. When inside, they had built the village in a wheel and spoke pattern.

The outer edge, hugging the wall, was the purely civilian part, with half of the buildings delegated as homes and the other half as business property. As you went down the 'spokes' into the centre, there was less housing and more business, and the businesses became more ninja oriented.

The true genius of their engineering came in the centre of the village, which was absolutely huge. It made up the ninja part of the village, where instead of a Numakage tower, they had built a Numakage... Marquee. It looked like it was actually made of cloth, but when Kiyo got closer she saw that it was actually made of stone, and looked more professional inside.

Everywhere else was made up purely of housing, other administration buildings, though not many, and then training grounds. There were absolutely dozens of them, covering every type of terrain possible. The good thing was that there was always space to expand, as most of the swamp was actually unused; the space between the spokes of the village.

Kiyo then noticed something else. "Numakage-san, why are there lots of pipes leading out of the swamp?" She could see them, almost invisible, apparently sucking up all of the gas that came out of the swamp.

"Ahh yes, those are a result of Sutingā and I's genius. They suck up all of the swamp gas so that the air is perfectly breathable in the village, they use the heat from the gas to help with generating electricity, lowering the cost of running the village, and then pump the gas out of the wall around the village. This gas is infused with a tiny amount of chakra which is extracted from the swamp itself via a special seal of mine. If someone manages to get through the genjutsu of the wall, they run into the swamp gas, which is poisonous in high concentrations, especially with its potency multiplied by ten times due to the natural chakra input."

"The gas also heats up again due to other natural heat vents as it leaves the area of the genjutsu, creating a purple haze up to a mile away from the village that produces heat waves and disorients invaders."

Kiyo was suitably impressed with them, and knew then and there that she had made the right decision in accepting the two of them. "So how does the village stand? I hardly imagine swamp water is suitable for housing foundations and the like."

This time it was Shino's turn to explain. "That was my idea, Daimyo-sama. The walkways are held up by flotation devices that are filled with the swamp gas, so there is a ready supply if one leaks. If they are taken out in an attack, it will hinder the enemy as much as us, and we can just use boats until the walkways are fixed if one is damaged. The houses themselves have proper foundations all the way to the bedrock below the swamp, but if that were to be destroyed, then every building has an emergency flotation device that expands upon impact, meaning the building will float if the foundations are destroyed."

Kiyo was almost giddy with excitement, Kitsune and Sutingā had thought of every eventuality it seemed. However, she did have some official business as well. "I have a contingent of families ready to move into the village with children willing to become Genin. Therefore, I have a mission for each of you."

They were surprised, but then again, they had chosen her because they knew she would be an effective Daimyo. "Sutingā, you have two S-rank missions. You are to infiltrate any other village and try to find out how the war is going and whether it will move and affect the Land of Swamps beyond what it has already. After that, you will find any high-level missing-nin that you think can be convinced to join the village." Shino nodded and went to the ANBU headquarters to write up the first ever top secret ANBU mission request of Netsugakure no Sato.

"Kitsune, despite your position as Numakage, you also have a mission, two actually. Your first mission is to come to the capital and teach a rudimentary class to the aspiring Genin and select the ones you want in your academy. The other is to go and find merchants, tailors, grocers, butchers, blacksmiths, any kind of commercial worker you can convince to come to the village, as well as spread the word about living here as well."

Naruto nodded, and he escorted Kiyo out of the village via the tunnel, the two of them chatting away without even realising it. Kiyo rejoined her entourage and left for the capital while Naruto went to talk to Shino, feeling a bit over excited about being the Kage to a village.

xxxx

"Naruto?" Shino sounded slightly worried, causing Naruto's brow to furrow. "Do you think this is all moving... too fast? We've only been here in the past for just over a month and we're already running our own Hidden Village, one that definitely didn't exist before. What if we've already changed everything and our knowledge of the future is useless?"

Naruto thought about it, seriously thought about it. When he actually thought he was a bit of an uncommon genius, and saw things from angles that other people found difficult to even imagine.

"Well, our presence alone is going to make things happen differently, but the fact is that there are some things we can't change, such as Orochimaru, if we don't get to him in time, then Obito, I doubt we'll be able to prevent Yahiko's death unless we're lucky. The fact is we can't just fix everything, no matter how good we are, and we especially won't be able to change most people. In the end I think it'll just be damage control."

The message was clear; they would do what they could, but if it wasn't enough, then try not to worry about it and then go with the flow. "Thanks. On another note, I think that we should discard our old names and actually become our aliases, even in private. We both know how good at espionage Jiraiya is, there's no doubt that he already knows about the village's existence, but we don't know what else he knows. Give it a few years when we're born, and he will figure out who we are. We do not want that happening. You are Kitsune and I am Sutingā; embrace that."

So Naruto became Kitsune, even to himself, and Shino became Sutingā. They left their village, activating a security seal on the gate that only they could open, which if anyone got too close would suck them underground and suffocate them. He left a Kage Bunshin hidden at the gate, so that it could be opened and closed for the people that were migrating there.

Unknown to them, but proving their speculations true, Jiraiya of the Sannin slipped away after watching them leave the village. He had tried to gain entrance, but the genjutsu they had used was extremely strong and he would be detected, plus the gas was manipulated so it would be difficult to get through even without the genjutsu. He couldn't go underground because of the danger of getting stuck in the swamp, and he couldn't go in from above because of the swamp gas, which rose up and poisoned the air around the village.

He had to report to the Hokage; there was a new hidden village, and they could very well become dangerous if they produced more ninja like Kitsune and Sutingā.

xxxx

I command you to enjoy everything that I write! Ja ne.


	3. Chapter 3

When Nothing Matters

Chapter 2: Diplomacy

xxxx

Contrary to Jiraiya's belief Sarutobi was actually amused by the actions of the S-rank ninja 'Kitsune.' "So, he's making a Hidden Village is he? And right next to Fire Country? It would be just like him, if I'm guessing his personality correctly, which I think I am," Sarutobi mused to himself, causing a look of disbelief to cross Jiraiya's face.

"Hiruzen-sensei, this ninja could be extremely dangerous! He managed to create an entire Hidden Village almost single-handedly with such good defences that even I couldn't infiltrate it. I don't know where he came from, I don't know anything about him other than the fact that he's an S-rank missing-nin and now apparently the 'Numakage.'"

"Are you quite done, Jiraiya?" Sarutobi asked, an amused twinkle in his eye. "You got a look at his face, did you not?" Jiraiya nodded in confirmation, a curious expression causing his eyebrows to twist comically, forcing to Sarutobi to stifle a giggle, much to Jiraiya's growing aggravation. "So tell me, who does he look like? Take away the beard and the eyes and hair should tell you. Or maybe make his hair red?"

Jiraiya thought about it, seriously thought about it. He knew who the ninja were, or Sarutobi wouldn't have given him the hints. He was looking for someone with both blonde hair and blue eyes, or someone with red hair? The only people he knew with blonde hair and blue eyes were a few Yamanaka and his student Minato. The only person with red hair he knew was the last remaining Uzumaki, Kushina, and the Yondaime Kazekage, who had just come into office. Of those people, the most prevalent of them were Minato and Kushina... Minato and Kushina...

"Oh dear Kami!" Jiraiya shouted after a good few minutes, causing Sarutobi to chuckle. "But- The Numakage is _older_ than the both of them! How can he be their son? Sure Minato is good with time-space ninjutsu, the Hiraishin proves that, but time travel is impossible!"

"I know Jiraiya, but damn it I believe him. He took down three Chūnin with a single jutsu and that was only because they attacked first, then didn't pursue the Jounin, then _chatted_ with the other Jounin, Jinta Taheki. Which is why I have requested a diplomatic meeting between myself, the Fire Daimyo, Kitsune and the Swamp Daimyo in a month's time. I would rather try and secure an alliance, especially in this Kami forsaken war. I know who he is but I don't know his motives."

Jiraiya was flabbergasted at his sensei's boldness; if he was to be believed the son of two of the greatest ninja he knew had travelled back in time, become a missing-nin, built a Hidden Village in the Land of Swamps right between Fire Country and Wind Country, and no one had any idea what he was up to save for his friend that went everywhere he did, Sutingā. And no one knew who that was either, though he was suspected of being an Aburame.

"Only if you let me, Tsunade and Orochimaru go with you as protection. I have a bad feeling about this guy, and I'd feel better knowing that the God of Ninja and The Legendary Sannin were together to fight such a man as to just waltz into a country and build a Hidden Village and become its Kage. And the meeting cannot happen in Netsugakure, that village is a death trap."

"Don't worry, the meeting will be in the Swamp Daimyo's palace. However, I won't be taking you. Don't worry! You are going to be the Daimyo's protection, the three of you. I however, am going to recall Minato and Kushina for the meeting. If Kitsune is who we think he is, then their presence may throw him off guard enough to get some important information out of him."

"Are you going to tell them who you think he is?" Jiraiya asked. He could only imagine how the two would act around a man older than them that was claiming to be their son.

"No, I'm not. Should they find out, it will be there in the meeting. I know that's harsh," Sarutobi said quickly as he could see Jiraiya was about to protest, "but it is for the best. If their reactions are genuine, then they may be able to get more information out of him."

Jiraiya nodded in understanding; in war, you had to be ruthless. "I'll go inform Orochimaru and Tsunade."

xxxx

"Daimyo-sama," Kitsune greeted Kiyo, his beard longer than ever. Both he and Sutingā had been visited by her when they had both completed their respective missions after two weeks. She was naturally suspicious of whether they had completed their objectives, but couldn't deny what she was seeing as she came out of the secret entrance in the Numakage Marquee. What before had been a skeleton, nothing more than a shell of what it could be, stood a bustling village, complete with people and produce of all shapes and sizes.

She could see that there were some ninja living in the centre of the village, presumably missing-nin that Sutingā had found. He had found that the war had created an over abundance of ninja looking for a fresh start, particularly from Kiri. As it was, they had two Elite Jounin, twelve Jounin, forty one Chūnin and nine Genin, as well as seven ninja who had immediately entered the ANBU. They also had a class of a dozen being taught by one of the Chūnin, with four more Chūnin who had requested to become teachers when more students arrived.

As they moved to the outer parts of the village, there were merchants of all trades that had set up shop and families, some who just migrated, the families of the students, and surprisingly the families of some of the recruited ninja who had civilian families. It was more than she had ever expected in the space of two weeks, and she admitted to herself that she had made an _excellent _decision in allowing these two strange men to run her village.

"So, to what do we owe the visit?" Kitsune asked humbly, embracing his role as the Shodaime Numakage of Netsugakure no Sato; he rather liked his new role, but he knew that the time was drawing near when he would have to make an intervention in the war. It was just that every time he thought about it he was reminded of his own war, and then what awaited them if he screwed up, and it just seemed pointless...

He shook himself internally; he couldn't go down that line of thinking, he'd been there before, after Gaara had died, and it had taken the threat posed by the whole of Iwa to snap him out of his depression. "The Hokage has requested a meeting between Daimyos and Kages, and it is going to happen in my palace in two weeks time. Bring Sutingā and one other ninja as protection. I am also authorising an A-rank mission for two ninja to be my protection detail on the way home and during the meeting."

Simple and to the point, he nodded. "Of course Daimyo-sama. I will assign two of my best ninja to you. Would you like two ANBU, or regular ninja? And also, please stay a night at my request before you leave," Naruto said, adding a hint of suggestion into the last phrase. It was a technique he had picked up from Jiraiya, to be suggestive, but not enough to garner a woman's ire.

She apparently didn't pick up on it. "Oh yes I almost forgot. The Daimyo is allowed a three person protection detail being the foreign dignitary, and so he is bringing The Legendary Sannin with him, while I believe the Hokage is bringing two of his ninja," Kiyo said worriedly. Naruto smiled, and taking a chance, placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I will not lie, should they have less than honest intentions, then there is no doubt that they will be a handful. Fortunately, Sutingā and I are quite capable of handling The Legendary Sannin and The Professor," Naruto said confidently, looking Kiyo right in the eyes. In truth, he was slightly nervous.

For those three to show up merely meant that he was being taken seriously. What worried him was if it came down to a fight, he didn't know if he'd be able to stop himself killing Orochimaru, or if he'd be able to fight Jiraiya and Tsunade and the old man at all. He was worried that he would just lose it and try and kill Orochimaru anyway.

"_**Don't worry about it kit. If the worst comes to the worst, let me take over. I don't have the same desire to kill Orochimaru as you, and I would have no qualms about fighting the others if the shit hits the fan."**_

"_Thanks Kurama, that's actually a load off my mind. Since you're up and all, I don't think Kiyo has met you yet, you want to say hello?"_

"_**Sure why not. You sure it won't freak her out though?"**_

"_Nope."_

"Excuse me Daimyo-sama, but there is someone that I would like you to meet," Kitsune said to the Daimyo, who had recovered from her 'staring contest' with Naruto. Without waiting for a response from her, he closed his eyes and switched with Kurama. His eyes changed from their usual blue to red with slit pupils.

"**Damn, it's always good to breathe real air every once in a while,"** Kurama said, earning a look of shock from Kiyo, who actually took several steps back and bumped into her regular guards, who had their weapons raised. Sutingā just stood off to the side silently laughing at them.

"W-Who are you? Where's Kitsune?" Kiyo asked, barely suppressing the tremor in her voice at the sound of Kurama's voice, which was deep and gravelly. Kurama grinned, delighted to be able to introduce himself.

"**You know of the nine Bijuu who are usually sealed within people, each of them having a corresponding number of tails until the Kyuubi, the strongest?"** She nodded mutely, obviously understanding where he was going with this. **"Then allow me to introduce myself. You may call me Kurama, the Juubi, and resident of one of the only two humans that I call friend,"** Kurama said.

He studied Kiyo's face, and was surprised when her look of fear had changed to one of interest upon his introduction. He was actually rather taken aback by her attitude; there weren't many who could be told that someone was a demon host and then become more interested in them.

"**You don't fear me?"**

"I'm intrigued. I never thought the demons had manners, all of the stories paint you as bloodthirsty beasts who exist to destroy," she said, missing the flash of irritation that appeared in his eyes as she said it. She didn't miss the irritation in his voice though.

"**Of course, it was other humans that told you that, no? The same humans who unjustly imprisoned me and my kind for the crime of existing because they didn't understand us, and when we retaliated they merely began to use us for our power, treating us like beasts with no free will. Are you talking about those humans?"**

Kurama tried to be nice. He could have gotten a lot angrier at her for her careless remark, but reined it in. She was not at fault for being taught a certain way of thinking as a young child when she was malleable, the fault lied with her elders, and their elders, and so on and so forth. For being taught to look underneath the underneath, ninja were decidedly stubborn when they did not like what they saw.

Kiyo recognised that tone. It was the same tone she used on her father, when he had trapped her in his petty politics and paraded her like a prized animal, and her heart immediately went out to Kurama.

"Yes I am talking about those humans. I think you and I have a similar view of such people," she said scornfully, though it was not directed at Kurama, who smiled in appreciation of her tone.

"**It would seem we do. Well, it was nice to meet you, but I'm going to let Na- I mean Kitsune carry one. Farewell,"** and with that, Kurama went back into his seal and Kitsune surfaced.

"_Damn it Kurama, you almost blew it!" _Kitsune said to the Bijuu angrily, though Kurama could tell that he wasn't seriously angry at him.

"_**I'm sorry, it was a slip of the tongue. Besides, it was obvious that Kitsune wasn't your real name and all she knows now is the first syllable. It wouldn't even matter if she did know your name, its only people in Konoha that we don't want knowing, and not even for a couple of years yet."**_

Unfortunately, Kurama was right. Kitsune sighed inwardly, but forgave Kurama for his mistake; goodness knows how many times he had nearly called Sutingā by his real name since they had been sent to the past.

That still confused him. What were the chances that the only two ninja left in the entire world met up, and just before they were about to end it all, they found themselves so far in the past that they were older than their own parents? In the last near two months he had been focused on trying to prevent his future, but the fact was he could still feel the crushing depression from his own time, like it had followed him.

With a shake of his head, he made his way to the Marquee to assign two ninja to be Kiyo's guard. Considering who was going to be at the meeting, he assigned one of the Elite Jounin and a Jounin. The Elite Jounin was an ex-Suna ninja, Haru something, and the Jounin he would assign was a woman named Serina Hataka.

He was taken aback when he first heard her name, thinking that she was a Hatake like Kakashi; she even had silver hair, but it turned out she wasn't. A bit of digging on Sutingā's part showed her family to be a branch of the Hatake, but it was so long ago that they had just become different families.

She was an ex-Konoha ninja who had been court-martialled for purposefully letting an enemy ninja get away. She had become a missing-nin because she was too compassionate to kill someone that couldn't fight back.

Actually, he was going to assign her as his guard along with Sutingā; she had been spending a lot of time hanging around where he ate, she had moved in close to him and they seemed to spend time together. Maybe a mission together would lead to more for them?

xxxx

_(Two weeks later: Palace of the Swamp Daimyo)_

Naruto sat next to Kiyo and chatted with her about how the village was doing. It was actually going well. Having heard how much Sarutobi and Tsunade had griped about paperwork, he had hired civilians who had an understanding of ninja affairs to do all of the paperwork for him, and still went on missions, despite being the Numakage.

That meant that as the strongest ninja in the village, he was actually more active than most of the others, though almost all of the missions that the village had received so far had been within Swamp Country, and even those were fairly slow coming. Kitsune hadn't realised, but going out of the village to the mission outpost that civilians could use so they didn't have to go all the way into the village was a great D-rank mission for Genin.

Just then the Fire Daimyo and the Hokage and their entourage were announced, and Naruto and Kiyo stood to receive them and their guards. Kiyo glanced at Kitsune, who had refrained from going anywhere without his old and messed up cloak, which made him look like a homeless person, especially with the beard. It annoyed her, especially considering who they were meeting.

The Fire Daimyo entered first, a tall, thin man with a drawn look on his face; obviously the war was taking its toll on the man. He had dark hair and dark eyes, giving him a serious look, something which no doubt helped intimidate his fellow Daimyo.

After that were the Sannin. Both Kitsune and Sutingā couldn't help but be surprised by how young they looked, and they both found it very hard to reconcile their image of Orochimaru with the one in front of them, who was wearing the regular Jounin attire and the Konoha Hitai-ate on his forehead, with a serious look on his face.

Jiraiya was looking right at Kitsune, studying him, putting all of his skills to use. This was the closest he had gotten to the man, and couldn't help but be impressed with him. At this point in time, Jiraiya and the others were only a few years older than him, and there was no doubt that he was more skilled than each of them individually, and if he used Kurama, could probably take all three on his own.

After them, the Hokage came through. Again, Kitsune and Sutingā were slightly taken aback by how young he looked. Kitsune could only guess that the Kyuubi attack had made him a lot greyer than he should have been. He was also sporting a serious face that had rarely appeared, if ever, in his childhood.

Two of the three that followed however, caused Kitsune to freeze, and Sutingā to shuffle uncomfortably. Because, next the Jounin Jinta Taheki, walked Kitsune's father Minato Namikaze and his mother Kushina Uzumaki. Neither of the two missed the way that the Numakage froze and stared at them, nor did they miss the glisten of moisture in his eyes as he looked at them.

Sarutobi's eyes sparkled. "Welcome Fire-Daimyo and Sandaime Hokage. I trust that you had a pleasant journey?" Kiyo asked the two, putting on her 'official' face for the moment. The Fire-Daimyo returned the greeting, and the two began talking about non-ninja politics, presumably some idea for trade agreements between the two of them that Kiyo's father had been stupid enough to deny.

They finished before long, and then all eyes turned to the two Kage in the room, who were looking at each other intensely. The two Daimyo knew not to interfere in ninja politics for the most part; it was fraught with much more danger than regular politics. Sarutobi was the first to speak.

"So, Kitsune, seeing as how you are now the leader of a Hidden Village, it would be prudent to no longer go by an alias, don't you think?"

"Unfortunately, Sarutobi, while it may once have been, Kitsune is no longer an alias. I'm sure you understand just how damaging information in the wrong hands can be?"

"But of course, however, I must question how you came about your authority as Numakage without a name with which to claim it, especially being the Shodaime."

"Just because I do not publicly claim it, does not mean that there is nothing there to claim," Kushina noticed the way his eyes flicked to her as he said that, "though I'm sure that should there be no claim to fame, one could be created by certain people." This time it was Minato who caught his eyes flashing to him, no doubt referring to his nickname 'The Yellow Flash.'

Kushina couldn't help but analyse this Kitsune. He had a mop of bright blonde hair like Minato, and blue eyes that seemed as vast as an ocean, just like Minato. In fact, if she took away the beard and made him a lot younger and took away the whisker marks that she could see on him...

Minato was trying to gauge how strong this Numakage was. He had a lithe build and strong hands, a little like Kushina, along with a round face and wide, bright eyes, kind of like Kushina. Actually, the more he looked at the man's face, the more he thought he could see Kushina there...

Kitsune was having trouble controlling himself. It wasn't the Sannin he was worried about, not anymore. He felt his gaze keep on flicking to his parents as he and Sarutobi continued to exchange pointless words, the Hokage trying to get information out of Kitsune. And the worst thing was he could feel them starting to put the pieces together, he had a very distinctive look that wasn't shared by many.

All of the guards suddenly jumped in front of their charges as Minato rushed forward in the blink of an eye with a kunai to Kitsune's neck. "Who the hell are you?" He snarled at his fellow blonde. Much to his surprise, the man only chuckled, though there was definitely a nervous edge to it, though he didn't know that the kunai had nothing to with it.

"Well, Daimyo-sama, Sutingā and myself expected a confrontation, so to avoid a diplomatic incident, we have set aside a large field as a training area where we can spar. Since The Yellow Flash has threatened me specifically, he and I will spar in the training ground," Kitsune said, slowly getting up and walking out of the room with Sutingā and Serina, then made his way there.

The Daimyo stayed in the meeting room. "You knew this would happen?" The Fire-Daimyo said, not at all surprised. Ninja were useful, incredibly so, but they tended to be brash and uncouth, especially the stronger ones. Kiyo just nodded he head sadly.

"Yeah. We thought we might be able to push through it but Kitsune has a history with Konoha. What that history is I don't know, but it obviously involved those two," Kiyo said sadly, thinking that international relations with Fire Country were ruined. Much to her surprise, they weren't.

"Well, let them work it out of their system. So long as no one dies I'm happy to let them vent their frustration." Kiyo looked up hopefully, and she could tell from the Daimyo's face that his ninja had done this before. "Now then, I hear that there are some quite uncommon spices that grow in Swamp Country..."

xxxx

_(Meanwhile, with the ninja)_

"You know, there's a reason that I have a flee on sight order," Minato said to the man, who actually had the audacity to laugh out loud. "Damn it stop laughing. What's so funny?" Minato growled. He was one of the strongest ninja in the Elemental Nations, what was this guy on?

"Fuck it, it's barely a secret since I'm sure the old man figured it out already so here it is; I'm from the future. And the reason I'm laughing is because where, or should I say when, I come from, I was the only ninja ever to receive an SSS-ranking in the bingo book. The advisory didn't even say 'flee on sight' in most bingo books, it just said 'beg for mercy'."

Needless to say, everyone was stunned by that; not even Serina had known that he was from the future. Sarutobi looked thoughtful, wondering just how strong Kitsune was.

"It doesn't matter how strong you are, I have a Hiraishin tag on you. Once that's on, you can't beat me, I'm too fast," he said, but started growling in frustration when Kitsune started laughing again. "What is it this time?" he shouted in frustration.

Before anyone knew it there was a flash of red and suddenly Minato could feel a kunai at his neck. "It's funny, because I have one on you too," Kitsune whispered into his ear, much to the other man's shock.

It was impossible, no one else could use the Hiraishin except him. He had found out that it was part of a Kekkai Genkai that allowed his body to hold together at ridiculous speeds that would shred anyone else to pieces. Who was this man that looked like Kushina? With blonde hair and blue eyes, who could use the Hiraishin, who was apparently from the future...

"You're my son," he whispered, earning an oddly sad look from Kitsune. Then he said it again, louder this time, "You're my son!" There was a touch of hysteria in his voice, though it was understandable, there was a lot to take in. Although the evidence was almost irrefutable, considering the likelihood of it all being a coincidence.

"Sarutobi you fool, you forced my hand. You knew that these two would get a reaction out of me, didn't you?" Sarutobi nodded, looking both pleased and downtrodden. He was still mulling over what this meant for the war, for an SSS-rank to appear on their side might very well stop the war in its tracks. Iwa had already seen what an SS-rank ninja could, Minato had proven that, and it had almost broken them.

"But why? Why damn it? Why did you come back in time?" It was Kushina this time. She was understandably upset, wondering just what could force this man, who claimed to be her child, to come back in time and not search them out, not talk to them.

He understood her real question, but he didn't want to answer that; if they found out that they both died a mere three or so years from now then the entire future could fall apart. "It's because, everything was gone," he said softly, though everyone still heard him.

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" Sarutobi asked. He knew that Kitsune must have come from far in the future, but the Third World War couldn't have lasted that long, could it?

Kitsune laughed bitterly as he felt the depression sinking in again. He noticed Sutingā grab Serina's hand, no doubt feeling down himself. "I mean Sutingā and I were the last two ninja left in the entire Elemental Nations," he declared, causing everyone else to stop. Sarutobi's eyes widened when he heard it. No one could think, they could barely breathe. They all had one question running through their heads; what could cause the end of the world like that?

It was obvious that Kitsune really didn't want to talk about that to Kushina. She tried to change the subject, but doubted she would get an answer for it. "Why didn't you come seek us out? Were-were we bad parents?" She suddenly felt terrified. She knew, somehow, through some instinct, that this man was telling the truth and he really was their son, so why didn't he try and find them? Were they such bad parents that he couldn't even be bothered to try and mend things with them in the past?

Kitsune sighed; suddenly feeling like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, he turned to Kushina, and walked over to her and Sarutobi, Minato following, himself curious as to why he wouldn't try and find them. What could be more important?

"Please understand that I really don't want to tell you this, hell, I'm not even sure if I should, but there is a good reason why I didn't want to talk to you. The thing is, I was scared," he said with his head hanging and his hair hanging over his eyes, casting a shadow on his face. "This is actually only the second time I've ever spoken to you two, and the only time I've spoken to both of you together."

Kushina couldn't help but break down into tears at that. Had everything fallen apart so badly that they had abandoned their child? Minato comforted her the best he could, and was about to berate the man for making his girlfriend cry, when he looked at Kitsune's face to see him crying as well, though silently.

"Please don't think it was because you weren't loving parents; from the one time I had spoken to you each, you seemed to be the most loving, proud and supportive parents anyone could ask for," he said, earning a look of confusion from everyone, including Sarutobi, who himself could feel his eyes tearing up a little.

"The reason is because... damn it this is hard..." he took a moment to get his breathing under control and held his tears back. "You both died the day I was born." This time even Minato was crying, and he suddenly felt disappointment in himself. Whether he was their son from the future or not, their real son hadn't been born yet, so why did he feel like he had failed by dying. And more importantly, what could have possibly killed him?

Sarutobi was the first to get his voice back. "How? How did they die?" He sounded odd, he was sad, curious and angry all at the same time. Kitsune briefly debated; by telling them now what happened, then he would never become who he is today, as they would take measures to prevent it. Would he have given up becoming who he is just to have a family? The answer was hell yes.

"In eight to ten months, Obito Uchiha is going to be crushed by enemy ninja and presumed dead. He will be rescued by Madara Uchiha, who is incredibly old. Once he escapes, he will find Kakashi, only to watch as Kakashi kills Rin, without knowing that she asked him to do it; she had had the Sanbi sealed inside her and was going to die anyway." The crying had stopped as Kitsune continued the story; it felt good for him to get it off his chest, even if he was royally screwing everything up by telling them this. Wasn't that what he was planning on anyway?

"Enraged, Obito goes back to Madara and trains under him, acting in his stead. On the night of my birth, when the seal on Kushina is at its weakest, Obito attacks and lures Minato away by stealing me. In the time it takes for Minato to get to me, Obito has teleported Kushina away, and then extracts the Kyuubi. He controls it with his Mangekyo Sharingan, and sets it on Konoha."

Sarutobi was horrified by this, Minato looked sick to his stomach at the thought of one of his students doing all of that. Kitsune carried on, regardless. "Minato battles Obito, not realising who he is, and disrupts his control over the Kyuubi and near mortally wounds him. However, the Kyuubi is too enraged to see reason, and continues attacking. Minato drives the Kyuubi out, but it being a Tailed Beast, he is unable to kill it."

"So, he grabs me from the safe place he put me, and sets me upon an altar, and prepares to use the Shiki Fuuin, to seal away the Kyuubi into his son. However, before he can complete it, the Kyuubi attacks me, and he has to fend it off. Then Kushina appears, somehow still alive, and uses her chakra chains to hold the Kyuubi down while Minato finishes the Shiki Fuuin. Just before he completes it, the Kyuubi attempts one last time to kill me with a claw, but both Minato and Kushina jump in front of it, getting speared themselves."

"They die as the Kyuubi is sealed away into their son."

Horrified. The only word that Kitsune and Sutingā could possibly think of to describe the three Konoha ninja in front of them was horrified. They supposed that was the proper reaction, but after everything that came after that, it didn't seem like much to them.

"How does Obito die?" Minato managed to whisper after a few minutes. The way he saw it, if they could stop Obito from 'dying' then none of that ever had to happen.

Kitsune sighed again. "On a mission to blow up the Kannabi bridge and end the war, you have to leave your team for a couple of days. Rin is captured, Kakashi goes to finish the mission and Obito goes to rescue Rin. Kakashi loses is left eye and Obito's right side is crushed, so Rin, having been saved, implants Obito's eye into Kakashi's. They leave as the rest of the cave falls, believing Obito to be dead, when in reality he is rescued by an old and decrepit Madara Uchiha."

Kitsune stopped talking then. The story was told, and he felt lighter for it, but there was also a sense of dread; by telling these three everything he just did, he had set events in motion that even Shikamaru couldn't predict (too accurately). All he could do now was wait for the opportune moment.

xxxx

As always, readers enjoying my writing is my primary motivation. Some money would be nice, but beggars can't be choosers. Ja ne!


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